Mac or Windows I can't seem to get the BLEND operator mode in Echo to work the way I *think* it's supposed to. With the Echo settings at their defaults the operator is ADD and the image quickly adds up values and blows out. I want more of a "Normal Mode" a-la Photoshop, where each successive layer is simply placed over (or is it under?) the original with a opacity less than 100% as set by the Decay.

But when I switch from Add to Blend, the effect is exactly the same - the image is completely blown out.

I went to the Help file and lo and behold there's even a looping thumbnail video showing exactly what I want - some guy dancing ... and there are repeats of him from different moments in time ... but his brightness is I'm guessing exactly as the orignal, un-Echo'd version.

It works as it's supposed to. Blend still accumulates the values of the pixels and averages them. What you should be using are the Composite In Back and Composite In Front modes, if you want nrormal opacity blending.

First - I went straight to Blend. Yes, Compsite Over/Under will work for what I'm doing.

But I still don't get it. What's the difference between ADD and BLEND if the two result in the same look?

And - if "Blend still accumulates the values of the pixels and averages them..." then should Grey plus Grey plus Grey plus Grey averaged (divided by four Greys) result in ... Grey? It results in WHITE.